The Hunted: The Railroad Adventure

[Riotintheair]

Has the non-OB bear spawned in BR or have you seen any normal bears on the journey to BR (like the FM bears that are often by the tracks)?

[Timber Wolf]

1 minute ago, Riotintheair said:

Has the non-OB bear spawned in BR or have you seen any normal bears on the journey to BR (like the FM bears that are often by the tracks)?

No other bears spawn anywhere when playing in The Hunted mode.  O.B. likes the spotlight.

[Timber Wolf]

3 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

It's fantastic to watch how you game the game 

Thanks!  I like to play around and find out what is possible.

[Timber Wolf]

Day 46 – I awake in the Hunting Lodge and head outside and down the cliff right away.  I find a deer in the woods and drive it out on to the lake toward a lone wolf.  The wolf targets the deer for a moment, but I get too close and it then targets me.  It takes a few steps in my direction, then turns and runs – apparently frightened of my wolfskin coat.

The deer is on the other side of the lake, so I circle around one end and drive it back toward the wolf.  As I approach the wooded area, two other wolves spot me so I run to the maintenance yard and get safely into the exterior portion of the building.  I’m not going to enter the building, which keeps me separated from O.B.

I sleep for an hour to warm up and regain some energy.  Before I head out, I pick up some reclaimed wood that I dropped much too close to the door of the building and accidentally go inside.  Not good.  I just ate my last piece of meat and there goes the deer hunt.  I will have to complete the loop and get O.B. back up by the lodge before I can try again for a deer.

I quickly and safely make my way back up to the lodge.  It’s only been a few hours since I left. 

It is now really sinking in how desperate I am for food.  I don’t have very many cups of reishi tea left and I didn’t see a single rabbit.  I need to get a deer.

Down the cliff I go and immediately see a deer in the direction of the lake.  This should be easy, I think to myself.  The deer does not cooperate, however, and runs everywhere but out on to the lake.  After a lot of running we end up right back where we started and I try it again.  The deer continues to run every which way but on to the lake.  I’m getting close to exhausted, so I give up on it.

I decide to go over to the other wooded area where deer also spawn, to see what the situation looks like.  I find 3 deer hanging out, all of whom refuse to run anywhere near to the lake.  Up and down the large rocks and back and forth, but never out to the lake.

During my failed deer driving, I notice a couple of rabbits hopping around.  They aren’t too far from the bridge and gate.  I change gears and start rabbit hunting.  It’s over after 2 stones are thrown, I hit my target both times.

I use the last of my energy to run to the maintenance yard.  I am about to breathe a sigh of relief, when I see 3 wolves walking out of the maintenance yard right where I want to walk in.  Just then a moronic deer runs past me and straight into one of the wolves coming out of the hole in the fence.

The wolf is killed by one of the wolves.  The other 2 wolves take notice of me, so I drop the rabbits and run up on the rocks, spraining an ankle and wrist. I drink a cup of rose hips tea that heals my ankle and then move around to the other side of the maintenance yard.

I have no energy left, but I want to scare the one wolf away from its deer kill.  I decide to try to light a fire close to the wolf, but before I get start it another wolf surprises me and attacks.  I fight it off quickly and am left with about 60% condition.  I don’t hesitate and begin to start a fire near the wolf guarding its kill.

As soon as the fire starting animation begins, the wolf whimpers and runs away.  Is that all it takes?  That’s a little too easy.

I harvest 3 pieces of venison and then get back to the exterior part of the maintenance building (which I will refer to simply as my base from now on).  I start a fire and cook the venison and make a little water.  Then I stoke the fire and get a good night’s sleep.
 

Day 47 – Right away I go out to see if the rabbits are still where I dropped them outside the maintenance yard fence, but they are gone.  Oh well, at least I got a deer out of the deal. 

I start a fire next to the deer and harvest everything that remains.  I take the deer stuff back to my base and cook all of the venison.  Hoping no wolves will spawn into the area, I use the cover of a blizzard to go looking for the carcass of the wolf I fought the day before.  I check all around the lake side of the maintenance yard where the struggle occurred, but can’t find it.  So, I start looking on the other side of the yard and eventually find it laying on a snow pile.

I’m almost freezing, so I go back to base and sleep in the bed for 2 hours.  Then back outside and harvest everything from the wolf carcass.  I drop the wolf parts on the floor of my base and head back out to see if I can snag another deer.

It’s still snowing pretty hard, but I spot a deer quickly.  It doesn’t want to run out to the lake at first, but eventually I get it to go along with my plan and a wolf takes it down.

I smile briefly and then hear the growl of another wolf I hadn’t noticed before.  I have no sprint left, so I turn and wait for it to attack.

Since I was ready for it to pounce, I did a good job of fighting it off and don’t lose too much condition.  After patching up my wounds, I walk out to the middle of the lake and try the fire starting thing near the wolf guarding its kill.  Once again the wolf whimpers and runs off as soon as I begin starting the fire.  I’ll have to think about whether or not I want to continue to use that strategy, because it’s just way too easy.

I start a fire right next to the deer and harvest everything.  Then I cook most of the pieces of venison, but the fire runs out before I can finish.  I am fully lit up with 3 scent bars and decide to just make a run for my base.

Just as I pass through the fence into the maintenance yard and think that I will be safe, a wolf barks and comes at me from behind some junk in the yard.  I fight the wolf off pretty well, considering I am almost completely exhausted, but am still brought down to 42% condition.

I hobble into my base and get fixed up.  Then I eat a piece of venison, make a fire to stay warm through the night, and go to sleep.
 

Day 48 – I make water with the 1 hour remaining on the fire and then go out to look for the carcasses of the 2 wolves I fought.  First I check the lake, then the wooded area, then the maintenance yard, and then all over the place, but I can’t find either of the wolves.  Very disappointing, but I do collect 32 sticks while looking. 

While in the woods, I play around with a deer.  At one point I run out ahead of it and plan to take a screenshot as it runs through me, but just before it reaches me it starts “slipping” backwards, even though it is running forward.

The deer mechanics still need work, because that is ridiculous.

Back to base to sleep for a couple of hours to warm up and recover some energy, after a lot of running.

I have to stop playing the game, so when I start it back up O.B. spawns into my area.  I decide to run up to the lodge and spend the rest of the day repairing clothes some of my clothes.  However, once I arrive at the lodge I am almost exhausted, so I sleep first because I seem to have better success repairing clothes when I am refreshed.

[Drifter Man]

13 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

I am fully lit up with 3 scent bars and decide to just make a run for my base.

I'm always like "oh no" when I read these words  Isn't it better to leave the raw meat in place and collect it later?

[Drifter Man]

13 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

The deer mechanics still need work, because that is ridiculous.

And rabbits do it too. I don't know what they did again. Some time ago, animals would get stuck in place, they fixed it and for a time all was good. Now they started "sliding".

[Timber Wolf]

Just now, Drifter Man said:

I'm always like "oh no" when I read these words  Isn't it better to leave the raw meat in place and collect it later?

Yes, I'd say it definitely is better to do it this way. 

I just have a real problem with letting the wolves dictate what I do and when I do it.  For the most part, I walk around with the mentality that I am the baddest mofo out there and everything else should be very scared of me - not the other way around.  And this attitude is accentuated when I'm playing with O.B., because I am forced to respect his presence.

[Timber Wolf]

2 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

And rabbits do it too. I don't know what they did again. Some time ago, animals would get stuck in place, they fixed it and for a time all was good. Now they started "sliding".

I just noticed it with rabbits too.  It's something that should be addressed in the next update, because it really looks silly when it happens!

[Ruruwawa]

16 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

I use the cover of a blizzard...

Does O.B. take a break from stalking you when there is a blizzard?

[Timber Wolf]

5 minutes ago, Ruruwawa said:

Does O.B. take a break from stalking you when there is a blizzard?

No, blizzards don't prevent him from continuing his stalking.  I was using the cover for the wolves, which do not spawn in during blizzards. 

I wasn't concerned about O.B., because I had left him up by the lodge and there was no way he could get down to my area unless I entered a building or reloaded the game.

[Timber Wolf]

Day 49 – When I wake up fully rested, it’s still night so I can’t do any clothing repairs.  Instead, I stand on the main floor of the lodge looking at the stuff I still have laying around.  After thinking about it, I decide to take everything except 2 bandages, 2L of water, 2 cups of reishi tea, 4 pieces of cloth and a hacksaw.  The sun won’t be up for a couple more hours and a blizzard is raging, but I have no food so I head down the cliff. 

This is an easy map to navigate and I don’t expect to have any trouble reaching my base quickly and safely.  In no time at all, I’m warming up by a fire next to the bed in my base.

I make 5L of water and cook 2 pieces of wolf meat, then sleep for 2 hours hoping the blizzard will stop soon.  When I wake from my nap, the blizzard is gone.  I head out to see what the animals are up to.  I find one deer in the wooded area between the maintenance yard and the bridge and gate.  I follow it around that end of the lake and then past the hunters blind and around to the lower cave.  I stop in to remind myself what stuff I have stashed here.

Then I head back out and follow the deer around to this end of the lake.  And as luck would have it, a wolf kills it near the edge of the lake.  I stop for a moment and think about using the fire starting strategy, but decide against it because there’s no sport in it.  Instead I arm myself with a stone and walk up close to the wolf, which turns and growls at me.  I throw a stone and it lands short of the wolf.  Then I try again and it goes just over its head.  Then with my third throw, I hit the wolf square in the face!

It yelps and runs right at me and then past me.  Holy crap!  That actually works! 

I start a fire next to the deer carcass and harvest all of the meat.  I drop that on the ground and then harvest the rest of the deer and drop the guts on the ground.  There was at least one other wolf out on the lake and it’s now very foggy, so I will be more prudent this time and leave the meat and guts for now.

I return to base and take a 2 hour nap, but the fog only partially lifts.  The sun will be setting soon, so I decide to go get the meat and guts.  I can use the relatively short path from the hole in the fence on the side of the maintenance yard down to the far end of the lake.

When I arrive at the kill site, I see a wolf out in the middle of the lake.  I don’t hesitate and pick everything up and run back up the path and get safely back to base.  I now have 11 kg raw venison, 3 kg raw wolf meat, 5 kg cooked venison and 1 kg cooked wolf meat.

I use the last of the daylight to breakdown the only crate left in the maintenance yard.  I’m not really tired enough to sleep yet and the night is young, so I go outside and stand next to a cedar limb.  I am about to chop it up, when I notice my hatchet is down to 20%.  I go back into base and check the condition of my other hatchet and find it’s at 30%.  The hatchet is the best weapon for fighting wolves, so I have to keep them for that purpose and can no longer chop wood with them.  Instead I go out and collect some sticks in the woods and then sleep a few hours at a time through the night.
 

Day 50 – I wake up, eat a piece of venison, drink some water and then head out into the woods in the direction of the bridge and gate.  I pick up some sticks and keep an eye out for any wildlife activity.  I spin around the back path that leads to the stream and find a dead wolf.

I’m not sure how this wolf got dead, I don’t think it would still be here from a few days ago when I fought two of them.  I don’t spend much more time questioning the good fortune and start harvesting its meat.  It starts to snow and the wind picks up, but I still harvest the other parts of the wolf.  I take the same path back to the maintenance yard, climbing up and over the large rocks to get back to my base from the front side.

The wolf meat is at 26%, so I make a fire and cook it all.  I boil 2L of water to make use of what remains of the fire.  I am half exhausted and want to repair some clothing, so I sleep for 3 hours first.  Then I spend the rest of the day repairing clothes and checking my inventory.  I only have 28 matches left.  I don’t think I have any stashed in either of the caves.  I’ll have to be much more conservative with them from now on and try to use every fire to its fullest.

[Riotintheair]

What's the temperature range like on this challenge at around day 50 in BR? I assume it's pretty cozy in the caves since they were pretty good to me on Interloper in the day 80 to 130 range (I really think BR has the nicest weather I've seen in Interloper, and those were some of the nicest caves I've slept in).

[Timber Wolf]

7 minutes ago, Riotintheair said:

What's the temperature range like on this challenge at around day 50 in BR? I assume it's pretty cozy in the caves since they were pretty good to me on Interloper in the day 80 to 130 range (I really think BR has the nicest weather I've seen in Interloper, and those were some of the nicest caves I've slept in).

It's just before sunset at the air temperature is -12C. I ran over to the lower cave and it's at -4C. Very comfortable.

I think the settings in this mode are the same as Stalker.

[JAFO]

12 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

I was using the cover for the wolves, which do not spawn in during blizzards. 

I wasn't concerned about O.B., because I had left him up by the lodge and there was no way he could get down to my area unless I entered a building or reloaded the game.

Since you hadn't exited a building after the blizzard commenced, any wolves which had spawned before the blizzard blew up were still out there, just waiting for you to blunder into them...

[Drifter Man]

15 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

I just have a real problem with letting the wolves dictate what I do and when I do it.  For the most part, I walk around with the mentality that I am the baddest mofo out there and everything else should be very scared of me - not the other way around.  And this attitude is accentuated when I'm playing with O.B., because I am forced to respect his presence.

Showing confidence may work on people and animals. In my experience, it makes no impression on entities that are scripted to home in on you and attack as soon as you are within certain radius

But my approach may also be different because for an unarmed interloper, a wolf struggle is usually terminal, so the stakes are much higher.

[Drifter Man]

5 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

It yelps and runs right at me and then past me.  Holy crap!  That actually works! 

Another method found!

5 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

I’m not sure how this wolf got dead

Old age?

[JAFO]

4 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Another method found!

Well, confirmed is more like it.. this has been reported a couple of times in the last 6 weeks or so.

[JAFO]

5 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

I’m not sure how this wolf got dead

6 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Old age?

Or rocks to the head are long-term fatal?

[Drifter Man]

1 hour ago, JAFO said:

Well, confirmed is more like it.. this has been reported a couple of times in the last 6 weeks or so.

Yeah, I just don't scour the forum like I used to

[Timber Wolf]

4 hours ago, JAFO said:

Since you hadn't exited a building after the blizzard commenced, any wolves which had spawned before the blizzard blew up were still out there, just waiting for you to blunder into them...

Really?  Well, that was pretty dumb then.   For some reason I was thinking the animals disappeared after an hour or two into the blizzard. 

[Timber Wolf]

4 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

In my experience, it makes no impression on entities that are scripted to home in on you and attack as soon as you are within certain radius

To be sure, these virtual creatures are indifferent to my attitude and confidence.  It’s really just stubbornness on my part.  The internal conversation often goes something like this - “I really shouldn’t carry all of this stinky stuff back right now....screw the wolves, I’ll do what want!” 

[Timber Wolf]

4 hours ago, JAFO said:

Well, confirmed is more like it.. this has been reported a couple of times in the last 6 weeks or so.

Yep, you were the one who pointed this out on the previous page of this thread.  I did try it at that point, but the stones seemed to go right through the wolf.  My stone throwing technique and aim has improved since then, so I will continue to use this method. 

This, along with stunning rabbits and moving wolves, makes the stones a pretty powerful tool. 

[Timber Wolf]

4 hours ago, JAFO said:

9 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

I’m not sure how this wolf got dead

4 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Old age?

Or rocks to the head are long-term fatal?

Maybe.  It’s not the first time I’ve come across a dead wolf I couldn’t explain.  That would really be something if  wolves can be killed with stones.  Further investigation may be needed. 

[Timber Wolf]

Day 50 continued – I still have some energy left after my clothing repairs and since I had to reload the game and O.B. is now in the neighborhood, I decide to make a trip up to the lodge.  Mostly so I will be able to separate from him again.

As I make my way to the upper level path, I stop and admire the aurora I haven’t seen for a while.  I am about to take a picture of it, when I realize I haven’t yet created a panoramic shot in this new map.  It turns out great.  (See my other panoramic shots here)

On the way up to the lodge, I swing into the upper cave to see if I left any matches, but none are to be found.  I also notice that the rabbits haven’t respawned in this area yet.  I haven’t seen rabbits by either of the caves for several days now.  How long does it take for them to repopulate?

As I begin to freeze, I hurry along and make it safely to the lodge.  I’m very tired now and go upstairs to sleep.
 

Day 51 – I’m starving when I wake up, so I get moving right away.  Down the cliff and over to the lower cave, where I find a pack of 12 matches sitting on the cave floor.  Alright, that gets me up to 40 total, though I should still be careful how and when I use them.

I see a rabbit a little way down the path from the cave and stun it with my first shot.  I run it back to the cave, harvest it and drop all the parts on the ground.  I head back out in a hurry to get back to base and eat some cooked meat.

When I do get back to my base, I eat a piece of wolf meat.  It’s still morning and fairly cold and I’m freezing, but I don’t want to spend a match on a fire.  Instead, I sleep for 1 hour, then pass 1 hour of time in the bed, waiting for the temperature to rise enough to stop losing condition.  I drop down just under 60%, so I sleep for 3 more hours to regain a little condition and get warmed up.  I should have built a fire.

Despite being in lower condition, I decide to go out and see if I can drive another deer into a wolf.  When I get down by the lake, I see there is only 1 wolf patrolling the area, which is ideal.  I spin over by the lower cave and when I get just past it I see a deer.  Again, this deer runs everywhere but out on to the lake.  When I first started driving the deer, it didn’t seem to be very difficult to get them on the lake.  But all of my recent efforts have been exhausting and frustrating.  Even when I have the deer between myself and the lake, it will take an abrupt turn before getting out on the ice.  It’s almost like the deer have figured out what I’m trying to do.  This one makes sure to run up on to every large rock in the area.

During my futile attempt to drive the deer to the lake, snow began to fall and then get heavier.  As I am about to entirely run out of energy, a blizzard starts up.  I have no choice but to retreat to my base.  I start a fire to stay warm through the night and go to sleep.
 

Day 52 – I cook 2 venison pieces to make use of the last of the fire, then head up to the lodge.  Along the way, I swing past the upper cave to see if there are any rabbits.  I do see one, but it’s still too dark for hunting, so I continue quickly to the lodge.

Inside I take a short nap to regain some energy and warm up.  I’ve been avoiding O.B. lately, so I go outside to play with him for a while.  We dance around the yard and eventually I run out and up the large tree.  After throwing a few stones at him and getting no reaction, I climb down the tree and take aim.  He runs at me immediately and I retreat up into the tree.

I hear the loud sound of him running, but I don’t see him.  Is he stuck under the tree or something?

He sure is.  I take a moment to get inside O.B.’s head.

Then I spend some time playing with the wolves, who won’t come close to him.  With O.B. stuck like this, I have a safe radius around him.  Too bad there’s nothing to do or get right here.  I begin to freeze and end the play time and go back inside for another short, warming nap.

When I leave the lodge it is windy and snowy, but I head down the cliff anyway.  I see a deer running around the woods and spot a wolf out on the lake, but decide not to get involved with them.  Instead, I just go back to my base.  Not long after I arrive, the weather worsens and turns into a blizzard.  With nothing better to do, I search the maintenance building again to see if I missed anything.

Nothing new turns up, so I take another short nap hoping the blizzard will come to an end.  It does and I head outside to see what’s going on.  O.B. is walking the fence line on the lakeside of the maintenance yard.  I realize I haven’t yet played with him here, so I arm myself with a stone and get his attention.

He comes running and I duck into my base at the last moment to avoid him.  He runs back out of the yard and around the fence and up on the rocks nearby.

Then back around and into the yard again.  I raise my hand to throw a stone and he comes for me one more time.  I jump back into base to avoid him when he gets close and this time he runs across the other side of the maintenance yard and then way up on to the rocks and out of sight.

I wait for a while, wondering if he’ll come back.  Eventually I see him up on the rocks and he runs down and into the yard.  Then he stops running, so I provoke him one more time which sends him running toward me, again I go inside my base, and he again runs up onto the rocks.  We do this a couple more times, but just as I’m about to jump inside and end our play time, I wait a little too long, and so he gives me a great big bear hug!

When O.B. finishes up, I limp inside at 22% condition and tend to my wounds.  I spend the rest of the day repairing some of the clothes he ripped apart.  I also have him to thank for ruining my last wool toque.

[Riotintheair]

That panorama is gorgeous!

Sorry to hear you're out of hats, it sounds like things maybe starting to slide downhill a bit.